Doctor Aphra #3

Holy badass Wookiee, Batman, it’s comic book time again! This week we dive into the third installment of young lady Aphra’s solo title, a series that has a lot of potential but has yet to fully live up to it…maybe it’s just because the Darth Vader comic was my favorite and I’m holding Aphra’s series up to a higher standard…anyway, the story line they’re setting up could lead to some really interesting outcomes, but the buildup has been so-so through the first three issues (though I did really like the backstory we got in issue #1). But, speaking of buildup, let’s cut to the chase and get to the heart of the matter! Idioms!

Doctor Aphra #1So, the story starts with Aphra’s father admitting that he’s basically clueless of all things Death Star, from the destruction on Jedha (which was cool that they mentioned), to Alderaan’s annihilation, even that it’d then been destroyed by the rebels from their base on, oh yeah, Yavin 4. It also turns out he had no idea his daughter was mixed up with Darth Vader for a while…gives you a pretty good indication about what kind of father he must have been…with that out of the way, they get busy with their plan to get into the temple without being noticed by the Empire, and we’re introduced to a very interesting-looking Imperial Captain named Tolvan, who seems to be wearing some kind of body suit that comes all the way up the back of her neck and under her chin, and also appears to have some low-profile, Lobot-esque cybernetics (though that could just be part of the body suit). Our heroes (I guess the group we’re following are the heroes in this series…from their point of view, anyway) have setup a diversion to draw the Imperials away from the temple that consists of a coded signal and a big, angry Wookiee. It’s definitely a plan I could get on board with…so the Empire sends a scout team to investigate the signal, and Krrsantan takes them out; they send in more troops, and Krrsantan takes them out. Then the droids go in, just kinda right past everyone…I guess if you’re a dark-colored droid you can sneak around on the Empire without any issue whatsoever (Chopper does it all the time)…the droids have a few panels of humorous banter where they call Aphra’s father “the older Aphra model,” and call droids doing what droids are supposed to do “career droids,” then they open the ventilation hatches so father and daughter Aphra can join the party in the temple. While they’re climbing down ropes, Aphra’s father drops a shaped, glowing (kyber?) crystal that (Chelli, we know her first name now) Aphra recognizes as a Massassi piece that her father had owned for quite some time. We then move to Krrsantan continuing to do his thing, and doing it so well that the oddly-dressed Captain sends in a scout walker…that Krrsantan baits into firing on him which results in angering a giant worm that bursts from the ground and destroys the walker…I’m usually a huge fan of creatures in Star Wars, but this seemed pretty cheesy, even to me…back inside the temple, the group pass an interrogation droid (000 says he’s a “big fan of your work”) that I guess doesn’t care that they’re there, or doesn’t know they’re not supposed to be there, but doesn’t make a fuss about them, at any rate. Eventually the group finds the room they’re looking for and start putting the crystals (poppa Aphra only dropped one of several) in their respective places for something to happen, and that something is…going to have to wait until we see Krrsantan go crazy with one of the guns he removed from the scout walker…back inside, the something that happens turns out to be nothing, and Chelli Lona Aphra (we know her full name now) goes off on her father because, as far as she knows, his “life’s work” that he basically ruined her and her mother’s life for has all been for naught…that is until the droids notice the tops of all the temples are glowing like suns and sending rays to a point in the sky (much like the Death Star’s laser)…and then, well, the issue’s over so we don’t know, but I think we can all agree it’s going to be something big: worst case scenario, it alerts the Empire to their presence; best case scenario, it draws the Ordu Aspectu back into this time or realm or dimension…that would be pretty cool…but, as per usual, we’ll have to wait ’til next time to find out…

And there you have it, lords and ladies, Doctor Aphra #3 is in the books. So what’d you think? Is Krrsantan a supreme badass or what? And what do you make of the giant worm walker eater? Cool or dumb? How ’bout Captain Tolvan, what’s her deal? Is there some kind of reason for her strange outfit, or is she just way ahead on Imperial fashion trends? And what do you think about the droids’ banter? Is it decent comic relief, or is it getting stale and predictable? Give the book a thorough second read and let me know what you think in the comments…or I’ll have Mr. Krrsantan send one of his worm buddies to your house and turn that two-story into a crater (I guess if you don’t have a two-story house you’re safe this week…lucky you)…until next time, TWS out.

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